Dutch Interview for national radio – Vroege Vogels about the project Sharks and Ray Back into the North Sea / Haaien en Roggen terug in de Noordzee.
It was glorious weather when reporter Jesper Buursink arrived at the oysterpits in Yerseke, to interview Georgina Wiersma, Niels Brevé (Sportvisserij Nederland and Michaël Laterveer (BlueLinked).
Jesper Buursink observes bred rays
In the 1950s, rays and sharks were common in the North Sea. Due to the advent of intensive fishing and the disappearance of the nurseries due to the construction of the Afsluitdijk and Deltawerken, the numbers of rays and sharks have fallen drastically. Nine of the seventeen shark and ray species that still live in the North Sea are under threat.
The chance that the endangered species will grow into healthy populations on its own will be small because the shark and ray species are slow to reproduce. Five organizations, World Wildlife Fund, Sportvisserij Nederland, Dutch Shark Society, Blue Linked and Stichting De Noordzee have therefore started a pilot project. Thornback rays are bred in aquariums where they can get used to living food and the tide of the Oosterschelde for two weeks in an obsolete oyster tank. Then they are released in the Oosterschelde.
Listen back (Dutch only):
https://vroegevogels.bnnvara.nl/nieuws/gekweekte-stekelroggen-uitgezet
More info on this project:
http://www.dutchsharksociety.org/sharks-and-rays-back-into-the-north-sea/
